Wicca
by Kenshin Himura
Summary: A bit AU maybe, but it takes place in the year 2020 in Salem, Massachusetts. Rosette has been reincarnated and has an interest in witchcraft along with her friend Josh, who is her brother reincarnated. The two sneak out one night upon hearing that a demon
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Chrno Crusade.

KopyKat: Yes, it's my first true attempt at a Chrno Crusade fan fiction. I did begin writing another back when I had only read the first volume of the manga and upon looking at it now after I've read up to volume 5 and have seen the entire anime, well, it's not accurate to say the least. Muahaha! Let's see how well I stick to the characters here, though I will have Rosette have a mother (which I will name Maggie). Can't have her life be EXACTLY the same. And Joshua is not her brother here, he's one of her closest troublemaking friends or rather "partner in crime."

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_April 3rd, 2020 A.D._

_Salem, Massachusetts._

Despite this town's dark past dealing with witchcraft and the persecution of witches, there were still some people who practiced the art. Of course now, people did not burn suspected witches at the stake anymore. The witches of Salem were almost considered a tourist attraction, though only a few of the so-called witches were real. Now here comes our story of a young, troublesome girl, who is interested in magic (though her mother forbids it).

Something big was going out tonight and she had gotten the word! A small group of witches were supposed to be trying to summon up a demon, which was EXTREMELY dangerous because the demon could go wild and kill them all.

_Eh, a little danger never hurt anybody_, a 12-year old blonde-headed girl thinks as she attempts to sneak out the window in her room. Bad thing was, her room was located on the second floor of her house. Luckily for her, there was a tree outside of her window with several large branches, though without leaves, it appeared dead. She carefully slides her body out, feeling with her foot for the branch. She found it, though the branch wasn't exactly sturdy. She shuts her eyes tightly as she feels it bend down due to her weight, but it didn't snap. She opens one eye cautiously before letting out a sigh of relief, "Thought I was a goner there…."

"Rosette!" her mother screams, bursting into her room and surprising the girl.

The branch breaks and she falls towards the ground, landing in a bush, "YEOW!" She lies in the bush and looks up at the window, spotting her mother looking down at her with a worried expression, "Don't DO that mom! Ya scared me half to DEATH! Heck! You could've scared me to death if I landed on my head!"

Her mother, known as Maggie, narrows her eyes a little, "Rosette, you shouldn't be doing stunts like this. You could end up getting hurt. You were sneaking out again, weren't you?"

Rosette sighs, getting up and dusting herself off, "Well, yes, but you can see how that turned out. And I wasn't planning on doing anything bad, I just wanted to go pay a visit to my friend Josh. You remember him right mom?"

Maggie gives a small nod of understanding, "Yes, I do remember him. But I know you Rosette, you and that boy will go wandering around, getting into mischief or looking for witches or something. Both of you are occult maniacs."

The younger girl shakes her head, "Nuh-uh! Josh wanted me to meet him somewhere because we wanted to go check out the bookstore! Seriously mom, you worry too much. It's not like I'll do some strange spell and summon a powerful demon to rule the world with. If anything, I would summon a smart demon and have him do my homework for me! World domination just isn't my thing."

"Ah, so homework isn't your thing either," her mother responds with a sly smile, arching an eyebrow upwards, "I'm afraid that having some demon doing your homework for you isn't going to get you into college."

Rosette sticks her tongue out, "Yeah, well… uh… I'll stuff him into my bag or something and have him help me! So there! And can I go now? Josh is supposed to be waiting for me by now and he's SO impatient!" When her mother seems to be having conflicting thoughts, she makes puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip, "Pwetty pwease? With sugar and a cherry on top? Or would you rather sprinkles or whipped cream? _Anything_ for the best mother in the world!" She grins.

Maggie shakes her head, the corners of her lips curved up in a small smile, "Alright, alright, I'll let you go _on one condition_. You stay away from anywhere where witches might be and I want you home before 8!"

Rosette grins wider and runs off, "Thanks mom! And by the way, that was TWO conditions!" 'She said one condition, so I'll be back for 8,' she thinks, smirking deviously as she sprints down the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, Josh was waiting at their rendezvous point, checking his watch every so often, _Gah! Rosette's late again_! He was beginning to get impatient, though patience was not one of his strongest virtues. He soon starts pacing back and forth, nearly wearing a hole into the pavement.

"Josh!"

He pauses and looks up to see Rosette running towards him, "Rosette! Where have you been? You should've been here like 10 minutes ago!"

She stops next to him and tries to catch her breath, doubled over with her hands resting on her knees, "Yeah… well… I had to… convince my mom to… let me come!"

Josh nods, understanding completely what she meant. While Rosette's mother was extremely nice and soft-spoken, she was rather strict and did not want her daughter getting involved in something like witchcraft. In occasions like that, her voice might also raise a little.

After waiting another minute or so for Rosette to fully catch her breath, the two begin walking towards the waterfront, which is where the summoning was supposed to take place.

Rosette looks over at Josh, "So, Josh, ya getting scared?"

Josh smiles before laughing, "Me? _Scared_? I LAUGH in the face of danger! Ha-ha-ha-HA!"

The blonde girl smiles before shaking her head, "You must've seen the Lion King one too many times."

He chuckles, "Yes, well, that isn't my fault. My little sister likes the movie and likes to watch it over and over again. It would drive me crazy if I didn't like it."

"You're already crazy," Rosette mutters before looking up ahead, "Look! They must've already started! I can see the smoke from some torches or something and I can smell them burning incense!" She grabs her friend by the wrist and runs, dragging him along, "We hafta HURRY!"

They arrive on the rocky beach and hide themselves behind a large boulder. It's not that the witches and warlocks weren't friendly, though in this case, they might not want outsiders to wander close. Their main reason for hiding was to stay out of the sight of the demon. Meanwhile, the people performing the summoning were standing inside of a seal that was drawn on the ground, which served the purpose of protecting them with an invisible barrier.

The two children watch eagerly (yet somewhat fearfully) as the summoners begin the ritual and listen to the incantation that the head summoner said out loud. It wasn't until after he had spoken the entire thing the first time that there was signs of magic at work. A circle with a pentagram inside appears on the ground in front of them marked in a red, evil-looking energy. As the summoner continues chanting, the symbol grows a little larger and brighter before becoming nothing but a bright light in the shape of a circle. The pentagram itself was no longer visible. Energy crackles in the air around them as someone, or some_thing_ begins ascending through the portal created.

Rosette's eyes widen to their extent as she watches what looked similar to a man rise from the portal on the ground. Only things that were 'inhuman' that she could see at the present moment were the horns that rose above his long, pointed and tufted ears. A long mechanism, resembling a spine almost, extended from the back of his head. His hair was a rather unnatural color of violet and was a bit messy-looking, though one wouldn't expect someone who's in hell to be able to drink ice-cold water let alone brush their hair. Both Rosette and Josh let out a quiet gasp when the demon's wings, which had been folded, suddenly snap out to their full length. Ok, so there were many things that were 'inhuman' about him, but take them away and he WOULD look human!

Rosette squints, studying the demon with a sense of familiarity. For some reason, though she had NO clue how it could be possible, she felt almost like she should know this particular demon. His hair and his ears were similar to what a boy had seen in her dreams.

In a reoccurring dream, she saw a boy with pointed ears and long violet hair that went all the way down to his waist in a braid. In nearly every dream, he would smile warmly at her. Sometimes, he would take her by her hand and lead her off in a random direction, saying in a cheerful tone, "Come on Rosette!" She automatically knew in her dream that he wasn't human, but still, she completely trusted him each and every time. Sometimes he would lead her to a tomb that was dark and dreary, other times, he would lead her to a beautiful lake where she suddenly found herself to be more devious than ever and throwing him into the water, despite his shouts and him begging her not to.

Without realizing what she was doing, she stands up and her legs begin automatically leading her towards the freshly-summoned demon. Even Josh couldn't stop her fast enough and he was also afraid of gaining the demon's attention. She reaches out a hand towards him while walking before unknowingly whispering a name that she had never actually said, but yet it just seemed to roll off her tongue like it was natural, "_Chrno_…."


	2. Reunited

Disclaimer: I do not own Chrno Crusade.

KopyKat: I'm just getting used to typing again. The Internet's been off, and is still off. I'm going completely crazy to the point of having withdraws. Took me a few days, but I've decided to start typing up some more of this story since I have nothing better to do as of now. Typing is proving to be difficult right now….

Another note- the demon (other than Chrno) in here is similar to the one that Rosette fought against in episodes 1 and 2. You know, the black impish thing with the long tail and wings.

And yet ANOTHER note, muy importante!- By vote amongst friends, there was an agreement that Chrno should remember her. In a way, I guess that works because he wasn't reincarnated, he was summoned from hell. And personally, I don't think he belongs in hell… but demons can't go to heaven, so… yeah. ;

As if he had heard his name (which he had), his ears give a small twitch and he looks at Rosette over his shoulder. His glowing red eyes widen upon seeing her and he turns completely around to face her, "Ro… _Rosette_?"

His eyes fade back to their normal amber color as he reaches towards her, though the barrier that had been placed around him gives a shock to his clawed hand. He pulls his hand back, grimacing a little, before looking back at her and meeting her bright blue eyes, '_She looks just like she did when we met the first time_…. '

He falls to his knees, looking down at the ground with a hurt expression, '_What if I lose her again…? If I try to break out, then I'll just be quickly sent back to hell because I'll give them a scare. What do I do…?_ '

Rosette walks closer to Chrno before kneeling before him just outside the barrier, despite the protests of the summoners who screamed at her to get away from him. She looks up at him as he returns his eyes to her as well, swallowing a knot in her throat before speaking, "So, you know me…? I think I know you… but I'm not too sure. I thought demons were supposed to be evil; you seem pretty nice." '_Like that boy in my dream_, ' she adds mentally.

Chrno smiles somewhat sadly, "Yes, you could say that I know you, or rather knew you in a past life of yours. You still look the same--- Huh?" His pupils shrink and his jaw clenches when he feels a strong surge of demonic energy. He looks down towards the portal in time to see another demon slightly smaller than himself shoot up through it and up into the sky. If that wasn't bad enough, the demon flew out of the barrier without much resistance. Unfortunately, the barrier was designed to only hold one demon and to hold the strongest.

Rosette gasps, staring up at the impish demon as it flies towards the group of summoners. When it smacks into the barrier around them, it screeches before looking around for another source of food. It spots Rosette and smirks, rows of sharp teeth glistening almost menacingly. It flies down towards her with its claws flashed and its mouth open.

"ROSETTE!" both Chrno and Joshua scream. Chrno begins desperately slashing at the barrier and lashing out at it violently with the whip-like mechanism extending from the back of his head, "Damn it!" His eyes widen in fear when he sees the demon take its first lash at her.

The girl screams, diving to the side to evade it. She takes off running, being careful to try and not trip over the rocks. She glances over her shoulder to see the demon closing in on her and in that moment, ends up tripping over a rock and slicing her knee open on another sharp one. She hisses in pain before taking another look back up at the advancing demon, scraping some sand into her grasp. She closes her eyes tightly before swiping her hand through the air, letting the sand fly. The sand flies into the demon's eyes and it closes them, screeching and shaking its head violently.

Rosette opens her eyes and watches the demon for a second before getting another idea, '_I must be CRAZY!_' She snatches up the sharp rock from before and shakily gets to her feet. She musters up some more courage before running behind the demon and leaping up onto its back. She screams out before beginning to stab the demon repeatedly with the rock, her eyes shut tightly to avoid seeing her deed.

The demon screeches out in pain before roaring in anger and flying up high into the sky, spinning around in an effort to shake her off. She hangs on for dear life, screaming, before yelling out, "Help me! CHRNO!"

Chrno watches through wide, frightened eyes, before glaring over at the summoners (who were shaken up to say the least), "Let me out! _PLEASE_! I have to help her!" When they refuse, he begins clawing at the barrier desperately, ignoring the pain, '_I can't lose her again! I WON'T lose her again! _'

Josh watches Rosette, trembling from fear. He knew that she would die if she didn't get help soon. He looks at Chrno and watches the demon as he viciously attacks the barrier while the whole time his eyes were on Rosette. The boy gulps before running out towards Chrno, '_That demon is Rosette's only chance! I have to get him out!_ ' He reaches the barrier and goes to punch the barrier, only to find that his fist went straight through.

Chrno looks at him and would have been surprised to see Joshua as well if it was not for the grave situation. He was also surprised to say the least when Joshua was able to go through the barrier. That gave him an idea.

"Joshua, erase everything that's outside of the barrier! Every symbol!" Chrno shouts.

Without a second thought, Josh begins hurriedly kicking at the symbols drawn on the sand in blood, scattering the sand around and therefore, totally destroying them.

In the meantime, Chrno continues his assault on the barrier as it begins to weaken, hoping to breach it. He keeps his eyes on Rosette, who had still managed to hang on by some miracle. However, her luck seemed to run out because on a quick jerk upwards, her hands slip and she begins falling. Chrno gasps before ramming his whole body against the barrier in a desperate attempt and cracking it. He does it again and it completely breaks. He quickly kicks off into the air and flies under Rosette, catching her.

Rosette looks up into the face of her rescuer, "T-thanks. I thought that I was going to die."

Chrno glares up at the demon, his eyes glowing a blood red color. He holds Rosette to him with one arm before thrusting his other arm up towards the demon, palm open. A blast of energy is fired and it strikes the blinded low-class demon, completely annihilating it. He glares harshly at the remains as they fall to the ground, anger still flooding through him.

She stares up at him, a little frightened upon seeing him looking so _bloodthirsty_, "C-Chrno…?"

The glow fades from his eyes as he looks down at her, descending. He frowns, "Sorry… I didn't mean to scare you…." His feet touch the ground and he sets her down gently. He stares at her for a few seconds before dropping down to his knees so that he was more even with her in height. He closes his eyes and embraces her with both his arms and his wings, resting his head on her shoulder, "I've missed you… so much… Rosette."

She blushes brightly, standing extremely still, "Well, don't forget that I don't really know you. I just know your name, what you are, and that you're nice." She looks behind him, seeing the summoners advancing on them, "Um, I don't think they're too happy about you escaping."

He opens his eyes and stands up before turning to face them, narrowing his cat-like amber eyes, "I'm not going back to hell, not after I've finally been reunited with someone."

The head summoner takes a step forward, glaring back at Chrno, "No _demon_, you're going back to where you belong."

For some reason, this statement seems to anger Rosette because she steps in front of Chrno and glares at the man, "No! Chrno doesn't belong there! Bad people go there! Chrno should be able to go wherever he wants to go and be a free man, even if he isn't human! You people are being RACIST!"

The man now glares at her, though the glare towards her wasn't full of hate, "Don't you understand what he is? He's a demon! Demons go to hell for a reason! It's because they're evil and bloodthirsty!"

Rosette glances back at Chrno, who was staring at the man intently, yet did not say a word to defend himself, "Chrno… why aren't you saying anything? He just ragged on you and said so many mean things!"

Chrno closes his eyes and turns his head away, "Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. Besides, in every religion, demons are considered evil and servants of the devil. All demons, except for maybe myself, _are _evil. So, I can't say I blame them… they aren't _entirely_ wrong…."

Her eyes widen a little in shock before narrowing sadly, "But doesn't it hurt…? When people say such mean things…?"

"Of course it hurts," he responds quietly before opening his eyes and returning his gaze to her, "But I'm accustomed to that kind of treatment, but part of the reason that I can deal with that negative treatment is because I had people who didn't care about what I was, like you." He smiles a small smile, yet the warmth was still there.

She blushes lightly before glaring back at the summoners, who were in order to do another ritual, "You heard it! He's not a murderer like other demons! Leave him ALONE!"

"How can you be sure that he's not a murderer?" the head summoner asks, "He could just be filling you up with sweet thoughts that are false. How do you know that he won't just turn around and kill you?"

Rosette's eyes waver, though she still maintains her determined look, "Because… well, I don't know exactly why or exactly how to explain it, but I trust him. In fact, I trust him so much that I'd trust him with my life. If he were really evil, then he would've let that other demon kill me. He wouldn't have bothered trying to save me, or even _smile_ with such kindness. I believe that he's not out to get anyone and I believe in _him_…." She balls her hands into fists and raises them to her chest while shouting at them, tears stinging the corners of her eyes, "So _please_! Please let him have a chance! If he even eats or purposely kills even one human, then…" She closes her eyes, trembling a bit, "… then I'll let you send him back. But at least give him a chance… he at least deserves that much for saving my life…."

The summoner stares at her before his eyes move to the demon. He studies Chrno for what seems like forever (though it was only a minute) before sighing, "I can't believe that I'm allowing this, but we will give him ONE chance. If he starts murdering people or being destructive, then we'll have to send him back. You best watch him closely. Any screw ups and it's back to the pits of hell with him." At his word, all of the summoners go their separate ways, though not without casting Chrno one last glance of suspicion.

Rosette smiles brightly and wipes her tears away with the back of her hand, "Well, it looks like you're staying Chrno." She looks down at her watch and her eyes bug out, "Crud! I was supposed to be home by 8 and it's 8:30!" She whines, "Why do things like this always, _always_ happen to ME?"

Josh rubs the back of his head, "Well, you _were_ in a lot of trouble. You had a demon attack you 'n all." He smiles sheepishly, "Unfortunately, I don't think your mother will accept that excuse, even if she _does_ believe it." The smile fades, "Though I was supposed to be home by now…."

She kicks at the sand a little before getting an idea and looking up at Chrno, "Chrno, can you fly Josh and I home?"

"Of course I can," the demon replies, smiling and picking the two of them up. He takes off into the air, now glowing a gold color and resembles a comet streaking across the sky. While flying, he looks down at the two children in his grasp, "So, you two aren't siblings anymore?"

The two look up at him before looking at one another, blinking in confusion.

"Siblings…?" Josh questions, still staring at Rosette.

"What do you mean by 'siblings'?" Rosette asks, looking up at Chrno.

The demon stares off ahead, "Well, that answers my question."

The young girl puffs her cheeks out in annoyance and crosses her arms, "Yeah, but it doesn't answer _mine_!"

Chrno smiles nervously, remembering that expression all too well before answering, "A long time ago, the two of you were alive though slightly different people. You and Joshua were brother and sister."

The two look at one another before looking back up at him, skeptical, "Yeah, right."

The demon sighs mentally, "So stubborn." He smiles at Rosette, "You really aren't any different than you were back then."

"Would you STOP with the RIDDLES?" Rosette screams, bashing Chrno on the head.

He sways in flight, a large lump rising on the side of his head and he looks at Rosette, putting on a somewhat annoyed expression, "Rosette, darnit, that _hurts_! It's also not the wisest thing to do while we're flying."

The young girl smiles sheepishly, "Ah, yeah… I didn't think about that."

Josh eyes her, "As usual. One of these days you're going to get us killed Rosette. We're gonna get eaten alive by some demon or something because you decide to go wrestle with it. You are nothing but a freakin' HAZARD."

"Shut up Josh!" Rosette snaps, eyeing him back.

Chrno smiles nervously, '_Yep, I know now that this is the Rosette from back then. No doubt in my mind. Joshua too._' The nervousness leaves him and he smiles warmly, watching the two children argue (though he was currently tuning them out). Yep, this was like the last time when he first met them. They were around the same age and even their personalities were the same. The resemblance was uncanny- it had to be them.

Rosette notices him smiling and pokes his cheek, "Whaddya smiling for? You find something funny?"

His nervous smile returns, "No, not at all! I was just… thinking. I'm also just happy to see you alive and well. Same goes for Joshua."

Josh looks up at him, "Close. The name's Josh, not Joshua."

"Ah, oh… sorry then. But it's still nice to see you both alive and healthy," the demon replies, his normal smile returning. It was a weird feeling rising up in his chest. Never before had he felt so relieved, as if he truly was now carefree. With Aion gone and no present danger, maybe there was truly nothing to be worried about anymore. Those days were quite possibly over. No longer did he feel guilty for stealing away someone's life. Aion was gone, Joshua—_Josh_ was safe. He wasn't bound by contract, especially since he now had his horns and also he was kinda 'too far down' to make one with a human anyway (not that he would've wanted to). It felt almost as if the world had been lifted off of his shoulders. Maybe now he could live life happily, like back before Joshua disappeared in his 'past life.'

"Chrno! You just passed my house!" Josh suddenly shouts, snapping Chrno back into reality.

Chrno turns around, "Well, geez, you could've told me sooner where it was! It's not like I automatically know where you live, at least not yet."

They land outside Josh's house and drop him off, saying a quick goodbye before taking back off into the air again.

"My house is right over there Chrno," Rosette says, pointing off to the side, "It's a white color."

He looks around, "Well, it's kinda hard to tell the differences in color at night. Is that the one? With the tree so close to the side of the house?" He points towards it.

She nods, "Yep! That's the one!"

He flies towards it and drops her off in near the front door, "I'll drop you off here so you can make an entrance. I guess I'll hang around in that tree for now." He flies up into the tree and sets himself on a sturdy branch, folding his wings against him.

She sighs, dreading the moment to come before opening the door and entering her home. As she suspected, she is reprimanded by her mother. Her excuse for being late was that she fell on the rocks (thus the injured knee) and refused to walk for the longest time until Josh finally forced her to. After a short lecture, she's let go and she runs up to her room after snatching something out of the kitchen. She thrusts open the window and looks out, spotting him sitting on the branch, "You're still here!"

Chrno can't help himself and ends up laughing a little, "Well, yeah! Of course! I told you that I'd wait up here, didn't I? Unfortunately, if I'm going to be staying, I need to find somewhere else to hide, especially during the day. I think your mom would have a cow if she saw me hanging around your window." He smiles nervously, "I rather not be thought of as a pervert of all things…." His thoughts went back to the Elder, though the old man was surely long dead by this time.

She looks up in thought, "Well, I guess you might hafta sleep on the roof. Sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea to keep you in my room, especially since I have school and all that. No telling if mom'll enter while I'm gone. Oh! I almost forgot!" She hands him a bag of chips and a coke, "In case you get a little hungry. Sorry it's not an actual dinner, but I don't think mom would appreciate me bringing a demon to the dinner table."

Memories arise in his mind of the 'old' Rosette handing him cookies and sweets when she first met him when he had told her that he was low on energy. He looks down at the offerings, smiling gently, '_It's just like last time…only this time it's something a little different._' He returns his eyes to her, smiling brightly, "It's jake! I completely understand. Heh, I guess I would be more than a little nervous about a demon sitting at the same table as I was if I were her."

She blinks, "It's… 'jake'…?" She snorts before closing her eyes with an arrogant expression and giving a flick of her wrist, "That is SO a century ago!"

He becomes flustered, not quite knowing how to respond to this, "Well, that's the time that I lived in! Give me a break! That's also the time that you lived in in your past life! Furthermore, I learned that expression from YOU…! So… so THERE!" He makes a face afterwards.

She puffs out her cheeks in mock-irritation, "W-Well, well!" She turns her back to him and crosses her arms, "It's still OLD! So THERE back to YOU!" She didn't know of a good comeback.

'_Just like before, she can never think of a good comeback_,' he thinks, smiling. His smile softens as he holds the bag of chips against him, "Thanks for the food Rosette. I really appreciate it."

Rosette turns slightly and looks at him, smiling again after a few seconds, "Sure, no problem. I can't have you starving, can I?" A bead of sweat appears on the side of her head and rolls, "But this is starting to feel like I'm trying to hide some pet. It's weird."

He smiles nervously, "Heh, yeah." He stands up on the tree branch and looks up towards the roof, spreading out his wings, "Guess I'll head up for the night."

"Go drop that off up there and then come back down. I wanna at least give you a pillow. The roof's a tad hard afterall," she says before allowing him to fly up.

He returns a few short moments later to retrieve a pillow and to his surprise, a blanket as well, "A blanket…?"

She eyes him, "Well, yeah! As I said, the roof's hard. If you don't need it to keep warm, then use it as cushioning! Good grief, don't you think?"

"Erm… of course I do!" he exclaims, blushing slightly from embarrassment before levitating in the air again. He smiles a little, "Well, good night Rosette."

She returns the smile and gives a small wave, "G'night Chrno." She closes her window and pulls the curtains closed as well.

He flies up onto the roof and transforms into his 'human' form. Afterwards, he eats his rather unhealthy dinner, which was also unfamiliar to him since chips and coke weren't available when he was last alive. They tasted good too! He fixes his bed and plops down on his back after having polished off most of the bag of chips and the entire can of soda. He lets out a sigh of content, stretching a little and letting out a yawn. Actually, he was too worked up to really sleep just yet. Afterall, he had just been reunited with Rosette only a few hours ago and the whole thing seemed like a dream to him still.

He narrows his eyes slightly while staring up at the stars, '_I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, I'll wake up only to find that all of this was nothing but a dream. All of what happened tonight seemed too real to be a dream, but… I just really hope that this is reality._' He pinches his arm and smiles a little upon feeling some pain, becoming reassured somewhat that this wasn't a dream. He really had found Rosette.

He continues gazing up at the stars, naming all the constellations off in his head. He knew all of them since he had spent such a long time alive. A couple centuries at least, which was MUCH longer than humans. The whole idea of a longer life wasn't appealing to the demon any longer and hadn't been for awhile. He had wanted to die so badly when Magdalene died, but he wasn't able to due to his supply of astral energy. When Rosette came along, he had grown so weak by that point and had stayed almost as weak the whole time up until she died. He had made a promise to her some time before she had died and he kept to that promise; the promise that he would return before her time ran out. Before he had reunited with her that one time, he had broken his own horns off again just so that he could join her soon after in death, if not at the same time.

Chrno sighs, closing his eyes and rolling over onto his side, curling up a little, '_I'll make a new promise, more of a personal one_….' He opens his eyes up a quarter of the way, staring at the empty can for a few seconds. The demon closes his eyes again, preparing to go to sleep, '_From now on… I won't allow myself to make the same mistakes that I did in my past life. I want Rosette to be happy and live a long, fulfilling life this time. I just want Rosette… to **live**_….' With that thought, he soon drifts off to sleep.


End file.
